I think, especially when you're in college, each book that you're reading tends to tell you who you are.

I think there's a real connection between acting and writing novels because the way I write characters has a little bit to do with the method acting that I was taught in high school and college.

Just like ice, lives crack, too. Personalities. Identities.

I tell my students that when you write, you should pretend you’re writing the best letter you ever wrote to the smartest friend you have. That way, you’ll never dumb things down. You won’t have to explain things that don’t need explaining. You’ll assume an intimacy and a natural shorthand, which is good because readers are smart and don’t wish to be condescended to.

Everyone struggles against despair, but it always wins in the end. It has to. It's the thing that lets us say goodbye.

I spend most of every day writing. I like to write every day if I can. I don't start extremely early.

One of the reasons that art is important to me is sometimes it actually feels more coherent than life. It orders the chaos.